


Beating a Rigged System

by Echovous



Category: Warframe
Genre: Body augmentation/mutilation, Debt-bondage, Fortuna - Freeform, Gen, Orb Vallis, forced body augmentation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-30
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2020-07-27 09:36:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20043826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Echovous/pseuds/Echovous
Summary: Behind Solaris United (although, the existence of it is still a rumor), Hester is the best kept secret in all of Fortuna. But secrets can be dangerous, and if the Taxmen were to ever discover her existence, it would surely mean brain-shelving for her entire extended family.And endless debt-bondage for her.





	1. Chapter 1

Hester sat at the edge of the vent. She sat close enough to see the maintenance workers on the floor below her, cranking heavy wrenches and swinging heavy sledge hammers, but far enough in the vent so she couldn’t be seen herself. She couldn’t risk to be seen by a stranger, or some down-on-their-luck worker who would attempt to turn her in for a profit. 

Her family has been working too hard for that, keeping her a secret all these years. Yet, she didn’t really know why. They’re risking so much. Debt adds up, and even though there is no debt attached to Hester’s name, she’s sure the Taxmen would come up with something—other than the unpaid shelter-bonds, and the procreation-bonds. If they were to ever catch a glimpse of her, it could mean brain-shelving for her entire extended family. 

A shift in the vent behind Hester caught her off guard. She stiffened, tightening her arms around her MOA, Auklet, that laid between her legs. Auklet stiffened too, and Hester could hear a buzzing inside the MOA as it scanned the vent. All of a sudden, Auklet jumped to her feet and released several excited noises. 

Hester sighed in relief when she caught sight of her friend, Brandi, coming through the other end of the vent. Brandi is one of the few people who have extended any kindness to her. 

“Heya, Hester,” Brandi greeted, climbing in to sit beside Hester. “And heya, Auklet,” Brandi gave the MOA a pat on her head before returning her eyes to Hester. “What’re you doin’ out? Thought ya parents wanted ya at home?”

“They’re fighting again...” Hester mumbled.

Brandi cocked her hinged head, “‘Bout you?”

“It’s always about me...”

“Ya don’t know that for sure.” Brandi shook her head sympathetically. 

No. She did know for sure. A Solaris who doesn’t work? Unheard of. Everybody here worked, including her family. They all worked long shifts everyday. They leave early in the morning, sometimes without time to eat or fully awaken, then they file into transports and aren’t back till midnight. But not her. She’s nothing but a deadweight who stays in her home all day, hidden from the Taxmen.

“If I worked, I could help pay off debt,” she said. “I could do something.”

Brandi vigorously shook her head. “No. Ah don’t wanna here that. Ya know what? If ya were to work, ya’d have to get a rig, then ya’d need mods, upgrades, more upgrades, ‘n’ when ya hydraulics fail ya ye’d need a rebuild, ‘n’ surely that accumulates more debt than what little sustenance ya soak up?”

“I guess so,” Hester hesitantly agreed, but deep down she knew that 50, even 40 years of work, could make a huge difference in her family’s debt. All she’d need is a few augments, which she could easily work off, if given the time.

“Besides, y’re not the only un-rigged Solaris out there,” Brandi shrugged. “Anri and Gunner don’t got a rig of their own yet.”

“True, but they’ll probably be gettin’ one soon, and their parents pay extra on their shelter debt-bonds,” Hester argued. “My parents don’t. They haven’t payed a single credit for me because they’ve been keeping my existence a secret to the Taxmen. I literally don’t exist.”

Brandi shrugged again, leaning back against the vent wall. “That can’t be too bad? Means y’re not tied down at least. Ya can leave whenever ya want.”

“There’s no way I can leave,” Hester said. “It May be possible to leave Fortuna, but I’d never get off planet.”

“If you were to smuggle yourself in a transport, you’d be out ta the next—“

“Jupiter,” Hester said. “Or Neptune. Most of the transports go there.”

Brandi frowned. “It’s somewhere.”

Hester hummed a solemn sound.

Brandi was silent for a moment, unsure what to say. Ventkids don’t really talk about their emotions all day long, so Brandi wouldn’t, as good as a friend she was. 

“Ight, as much as I like chitchattin’ I’m gonna have to go,” Brandi rolled onto her feet. “There’s a K-Drive that’s been itchin’ for a respray.”

“Oh, alright,” Hester shifted in the vent, giving Brandi enough room to slide past her. 

Brandi began down the vent but threw one last look over her shoulder. “Y’know, ya can come back to the clubhouse if ya want.”

“Nah, I think I’m going to head home now. Thanks anyway,” Hester flashed a fake smile.


	2. Chapter 2

Hester headed back to her hab through the back walkways of Fortuna. These narrow corridors were beside the main floors, well out of the way of the workers and the occasional Taxmen crew. 

Not like the Taxmen would bother searching through the personal quarters of any Solaris. Nothing—well, almost nothing—can get into Fortuna. If the Taxmen spot a strange transport, or worse, if they spotted smuggled goods, then it would mean immediate punishment for all involved. 

Or death. It could also mean death...

Auklet followed close behind her, pressed up against the back of her leg. The MOA released a nervous rumble, her head panning back and forth to scan the narrow hall. 

“It’s alright,” Hester reached an arm around to pat the top of the MOA’s leg, where the bracket connected to the frame. “We’re almost there. Two doors away.”

There was an upside to having an area away from the Taxmen. These back corridors were the only place besides the vents where she could walk around freely without having to care about being spotted. Even when other Solaris passed her, she wasn’t worried about getting turned in. All the workers in the habs were resting, and most importantly, off duty. No one back here would go out of their way to turn her in, even if it could take a chunk out of their debt. 

Hester reached the door to the hab, having run into no one, and routinely dialed in the code for the room. All doors in Fortuna operated on an automatic scan for the owner of each hab and all residents, however, she’s not registered as a resident, so she had to manually open the door. 

The door slid into the ceiling, revealing the inside of the hab. Hester braced herself for the worst. For her parents still arguing, for them to be in a really bad fight, and... She didn’t want to think about what could happen if the fight were to escalate. She hoped they weren’t in here, and at first glance, her prayers were answered... Until she spotted her mother, partially hidden behind a wall unit, her back to her. 

“Ma?” Hester asked, stepping inside the hab. She threw a quick glance behind her to make sure Auklet was inside before she manually shut the door. 

Her mother’s entire rig stiffened in surprise. She hadn’t heard her open the door, but she immediately tried to play it off. “Welcome home, sunshine,” she looked over at her, optics bright. 

Hester stepped further inside, as did Auklet. The little MOA scanned the hab, probably searching for Hester’s father, and when it couldn’t detect him, she immediately skipped over to the old sofa in the back and jumped atop it, laying down to rest. Hester didn’t join the MOA. She still watched her mother, still standing between two shelving units. 

“Where’s Pa,” Hester dared to ask. 

“He took another shift,” her mother explained with an unsteady voice. “Ah... He just wanted to get outta here an’ make himself busy,” she spoke quickly, voice strained to not betray her calmness. 

Her mother began to move around the hab. She stepped towards the kitchen and began to clean up the mess that had been left there. Throwing the plates into the sink gracelessly in her haste. 

“In fact, I gotta go too,” her mother said quickly.

“Where are you going?” Hester watched her mother’s quick movements with a furrowed brow.

“I put myself on schedule to work the night at the lower-deck pumping stations,” she said, hurriedly cleaning up the central table where it looked like she put together a quick snack for herself. “Five hour shift, 80 credits. It’ll be well worth it.”

“Oh. Ok,” Hester padded across the floor and set her bag next to Auklet on the old sofa. “I’ll be alone tonight then?”

Her mother glanced over at her, the bright blue optics on her robotic head growing dim with a deep sadness, but she didn’t say anything. 

Hester looked away from her mother. “I thought you weren’t working tonight,” she whispered. 

A sudden realization brightened her mother’s dim optics and she immediately came up to Hester, placing her hands on her shoulders. The plate on her chest slid open to reveal her true face. It was soft, almost angelic, unlike her hardy exterior. Her eyes, as bright blue as liquid coolant. Her hair, a deep auburn. Her skin, although blotched and speckled in some areas, looked spotless to Hester. 

“I know I promised we’d watch one of those movies your Uncle Hemming pirated, but I have to work,” her mother’s eyes were full of regret.

She was rendered speechless by her mother’s true face, the face she barely showed. So much so, that Hester forgot to respond. “I understand,” she nodded.

“What about next week?” Her mother asked, her lip curling into a weak smile. She loved it when her mother smiled. “We’ll pretend this week never happened, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Hester agreed, smiling back at her.

Her mother slid her chest plate back down, covering her real face. 

“Mom...”

“Yeah?” Her mother turned to look over her shoulder. 

She wanted to say so much... 

“Don’t work too hard...”

Her mother’s robotic head tilted to the side. “Hester, you know that’s not an option,” she laughed a weak laugh. “But I’ll do my best not to injure myself. Oh, and I told Bluebell to expect you in the mess hall. Please have her watch you while I’m gone,” her mother gave her one last wave before she disappeared outside the hab, leaving Hester all alone.


End file.
